The Morrison Government is extending the National Partnership Agreement on Adult Public Dental Service to support the states and territories in delivering public dental services.
The $107.8 million one-year extension to the National Partnership Agreement will provide services to around 180,000 additional public dental patients across Australia.
This brings the total investment through the National Partnership Agreement to $458 million since it commenced on 1 January 2017, providing services to around 763,000 public dental patients.
In addition to the National Partnership Agreement, the Government supports the provision of dental services through the Child Dental Benefits Schedule, National Health Reform Agreement funding to states and territories and the Private Health Insurance (PHI) rebate.
The Child Dental Benefits Schedule is estimated to provide around $1.4 billion over four years from 2019-20 to 2022-23, enabling eligible children to receive important dental care, including preventative care.
The Government also provides around $190 million per year to states and territories for dental services under the National Health Reform Agreement.
Support for private dental services is provided through the Government’s $6 billion Private Health Insurance rebate, which supports access to dental care through the private system. In 2018-19, private health insurance companies paid $2.8 billion in dental benefits for almost 43 million out-of-hospital dental services.
